Meeting at the Docks
by Luckie D
Summary: Set right after More then Just, John and Maria have a conversation at the docks to just chat. If you have not read More then Just, this is set in Baltimore and around the middle of season five. Rated T just to be safe.


**Set after _More then Just_**, **John Munch and Maria Frank trying hard to keep their relationship a secret while at the same time working together in Baltimore PD. Set around the middle of season five. More or less. Deal with mistakes (if there are) I only have the first three seasons while four/five are coming.  
**

Exiting his car and turning on his flashlight, John beamed it around the still boats, looking for the person who had slipped the note into his pocket near the end of their shift.

_Meet me at the docks after dark. Gonna need that flashlight to find me..._

Smiling to himself as he reread the note with his flashlight, he headed down near the end of the dock and moved the beam until he saw a shoe tapping lightly against the wore out wood boards. Moving the light up until he hit her face, John couldn't hide the smile as she placed a hand over her eyes as the light hit her face. "Well, there you are," He whispered as he shut the light off and moved to stand right in front of her. Dressed in all black so she wouldn't be seen, Maria blinked a few times until her eyes adjusted to the sudden light.

"Well, here I am." Maria smiled up at him as he took a step forward and dipped his head, brushing his lips against hers. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him closer as he hands moved to her waist. Sighing into the kiss, John gently tasted her mouth as a hand went through his hair.

Feeling a hand on his chest, he slowly pulled away and pressed his forehead against hers and said softly, "Why couldn't we meet at your place?"

"Too risky right now," she smiled as she licked her lips. "Besides, I love coming to the docks at night and felt that we needed to just talk or something like that."

John gave her a quizzical look as she took his hand and they started walking until they met the end of the dock. "Something like that?" John repeated as she sat down and hung her legs over the edge. "What do you mean by that?" He sat next to her and took a hold of her hand again.

"Well, I found myself thinking today, while I was helping Kay with a case, and I thought 'Maybe a small walk around the dock and getting a chance to talk to each other might be fun.'" She lightly chuckled as she swung her legs back and forth. "So here we are. Sitting on the edge of a dock and my mind keeps wondering if a dark creature is going to grab our legs and drag us to our doom."

"Like what would happen if we ever caught," John added as he reached into his work jacket and pulled out a small brown paper bag, a whiskey bottle hidden inside. Undoing the cap and taking a small pull, John handed it to her in an offer. Taking it from his hand, Maria stood and lifted it to her lips. "Is the reason you asked me to come here is because we haven't been as careful as we should have been?"

Maria shook her head, her hand held out for him to take a hold of. "No, we're just fine," She pulled him to his feet and they walked hand in hand slowly down the dock, sharing the hidden bottle of whiskey. "I gotta say, when I was told I was being transferred here, I wasn't really amused."

John watched her from the corner of his eye and nodded.

"I was happy where I was. Boston's my second home, while the cots in the station house are my first." Maria watched as a frog stopped it's nightly croaking as they came closer. Bending down, Maria carefully picked it up and held it close to her chest as they came closer to where a rock was sticking out of the dark water. "One of our detectives had retired and I was partnered with Kevin and he and I were still working on a partnership."

"Is Kevin new?"

"No, he's been doing it for a while, just like the rest of us. He's a nice guy - not really all there - but a nice guy with a bad divorce notch on his belt."

"Just like everyone else, right?"

"Sure is," She opened her hand a little to look at the frog, it's eyes staring at her while its front leg braced against her shirt. "Like I had said, I wasn't really amused coming here, until I met a very handsome man who looks _incredibly_ sexy with a shoulder holster."

John inhaled a breath with pride and grinned. Much to the sound of Maria giggling, he must have had a goofy grin on his face, but he couldn't help it. Watching her kneel down, he closed up the hidden bottle and slipped it back into his work jacket as she placed the small frog onto a rock. "You find me sexy with my shoulder holster?"

"Oh, _Hell_ yeah!" She happily said as she pushed aside his jacket, exposing the piece he was carrying. "Side holsters are nice, but shoulder holsters are a better sight for me." She could visibly see he was resisting to toss her into the backseat of his car and pin her down, but he behaved himself. Maria gently patted him on the cheek for his resilience. "Oh, I don't think I told you this, but the guy who carries around that huge camera?"

"Brodie?"

"Yeah, him," She linked her arm with his as they started walking again. "Anyway, he had asked me if I was interested in going out for a few drinks with him." She glanced over her glasses at him and gave a cocky smile. "And a possible dinner."

"And you said?"

"I wasn't interested in a relationship." She shrugged, "He's a sweet kid, but there was no way I was going out with him when I'm seeing someone. And he didn't need to know that I am seeing someone. Frankly, he kind of looks like a squirrel that will do anything to get an acorn from the top of the barren tree."

"He's a squirrel?" She nodded firmly with a smile. "What am I?"

"That homeless puppy dog, with those big puppy eyes, you find on your porch in the middle of a thunderstorm. That is who you are, baby boy." She rested her head against his shoulder as they kept walking. "That little dog you just want to hold close and never let go." John stopped in his steps and tipped her head up with the flashlight he held in his hand. "You like that, don't you?" He nodded. "Compared to you, Kay is a pit bull in my mind."

"And compared to Kay, you are a rottweiler to me." He whispered as he kissed her softly, her hand slipping the flashlight from his hand so he could wrap his arms completely around her. Pulling back just a few inches, John softly said, "I still want to take you out for a real date one of these days." Feeling her pulling him back down by his tie, John smiled as her lips hovered over his. "Got it?"

"Got it. It's going to be someplace out of this city, though." John tilted his head to one side, pulling back a little. "Too many people know each other in this town, John. You know that. One starts speaking to someone else and then, we're going to be in trouble with the big bosses."

"Ah," John grinned as he kissed her nose. "I love the way you think, Detective Maria Frank."

Pulling him back down by his tie again, Maria grinned as he his breathing hitched at the feeling of her hand creeping up his chest. _Wonder where she stashed that flashlight,_ he thought as she worked to loosen the tie from the knot. "My place or yours, Detective John Munch."

-End!


End file.
